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Below, we answer some of the most common nursing home abuse FAQs the Madison nursing home abuse lawyers at Boller & Vaughan get asked. We understand the challenges faced by nursing home abuse victims, as well as the questions confronted by families who suspect their loved one may be a victim of neglect or abuse in a nursing home.
It’s important to understand that these are general answers to general questions. If you believe a loved one is suffering from neglect or abuse in a nursing home or other assisted-care facility, you need specific answers to your specific situation. Please call us today at 608-268-0268 or contact us online to arrange a FREE, confidential consultation.
Neglect and abuse are distinguished by intent. Neglect may be the passive and unintentional failure to provide a nursing home resident’s needs. Abuse is the intentional harm of a nursing home resident.
Regardless of intent, both neglect and abuse constitute mistreatment and can have life-threatening or fatal consequences for nursing home residents who rely on others for their care.
Elder abuse takes many forms, most commonly:
Nursing home residents are vulnerable to all types of elder abuse, and they may be targeted for this vulnerability. Victims of nursing home neglect or abuse are often unable or unwilling to communicate their mistreatment.
Because some victims are unable to speak on their own behalf and because many cases of elder abuse go unreported, it’s important that family and friends be vigilant for signs of nursing home abuse.
Some common signs of neglect include:
Signs of physical abuse include:
Common indicators of emotional abuse include:
Signs of sexual abuse include:
Warning signs of financial abuse include:
Within the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, the Division or Quality Assurance (DQA) is responsible in part for regulating certain types of health-care providers, specifically care facilities like nursing homes and assisted-living centers.
Reports of suspected neglect or abuse in a nursing home or assisted-living facility may be filed anonymously. To submit a complaint to the DQA, call the toll-free complaint hotline at 800-642-6552.
You can also directly contact a regional office. The DQA Southern Regional Office located in Madison, for example, serves several counties including Dane, Green, Lafayette, Iowa and Rock. Click here to locate and your regional office.
Anyone with a concern or complaint may also contact the Wisconsin Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program at 800-815-0015. Complaints may be filed anonymously.
The program advocates on behalf of individuals age 60 and older who receive long-term care services as residents or tenants of a licensed or certified long-term care facility. Wisconsin’s Ombudsman Program is not an emergency hotline. Instead, the program seeks to resolve problems and advocate for the rights of residents with the goal of enhancing quality of life and care.
Wisconsin nursing home residents have the legal right to be treated with courtesy, respect, and dignity. By law, nursing home residents cannot to be:
Moreover, nursing home residents also have the right to private and unrestricted visitation and communication with anyone they choose via in-person visits, telephone, or mail.
If you have a loved one who is a victim of nursing home abuse or neglect, you should talk to a lawyer about filing a lawsuit promptly. Not only can the costs of treatment be substantial, but the emotional and psychological costs of abuse and neglect can be substantial as well. These are all costs that your family may be entitled to recover.
Abuse and neglect in nursing homes provide clear grounds for residents and their families to take legal action. Neither abuse nor neglect is appropriate under any circumstances, and nursing homes owe clear legal duties to their residents under Wisconsin law. An experienced lawyer will be able to explain everything you need to know about filing a lawsuit, and your lawyer will be able to take legal action on your family’s behalf as warranted.
Nursing homes can be held fully responsible for abuse and neglect occurring in their facilities. Like other businesses in Wisconsin, nursing homes are responsible for their employees’ actions on the job. From abusing residents and neglecting their basic needs to providing inadequate security, there are numerous grounds for residents and their families to seek just compensation from nursing homes in Wisconsin.
As a practical matter, filing a lawsuit for nursing home abuse or neglect usually involves dealing with the nursing home’s insurance company. Most nursing homes pay for insurance that covers these types of claims. While you may want the nursing home to pay directly, the most important thing is that your loved one gets the care and protection he or she needs, and exposing your loved one’s abuse or neglect will help to protect other residents from similar incidents in the future.
There are three main tools you can use to check a nursing home’s history and track record in Wisconsin. These are:
Importantly, while each of these resources provides different information about nursing homes in Wisconsin, they won’t necessarily provide all of the information you need. If you are considering a nursing home, it is a good idea to ask to speak with current and former residents in private. A lawyer who represents residents and their families may be able to provide you with additional information as well.
In most cases, nursing home residents and family members have three years to file a nursing home abuse or neglect case in Wisconsin. Generally, this three-year period starts to run on either: (i) the date the abuse or neglect occurs; (ii) the date a resident discovers that he or she is a victim of abuse or neglect; or, (iii) the date of the resident’s untimely death. However, while you may have up to three years to initiate your case, there are several important reasons to speak with a lawyer as soon as possible.
Nursing home abuse is far more common than most people realize. In fact, the statistics are alarming. A study conducted in 2021 concluded that, “about 10% of all people over the age of 65 experience some form of abuse . . . [and t]hese rates are often higher in long-term care facilities such as nursing homes.” Some reports put the rate of abuse in nursing homes as high as 44%, with as many as 95% of all residents saying that they have either experienced or witnessed some form of neglect or abuse.
If you have a case for nursing home abuse or neglect, determining the value of your case will involve carefully assessing the financial and non-financial costs of the harm you or your loved one has endured—and will continue to endure in the future. While settlements and verdicts in successful nursing home abuse and neglect cases are often substantial, we won’t be able to assess the potential value of your claim until we speak with you one-on-one.
If you have any questions or concerns about abuse or neglect in a Wisconsin nursing home, the right time to talk to an attorney is right now. Rarely do these situations get better on their own, and you will need to take legal action to secure the financial compensation you and your family deserve. Hiring an attorney costs nothing out-of-pocket, and we invite you to contact us for a FREE case evaluation at Boller & Vaughan today.
Instances of nursing home abuse are rarely limited to one person, and an attorney who has experience with elder abuse cases can help ensure that victims and their families receive the compensation they need to move forward and that the behavior stops before other innocent people suffer.
The Madison nursing home abuse lawyers at Boller & Vaughan are dedicated to helping nursing home abuse victims and their families pursue the financial security they need to cope with medical expenses and other damages.
Our attorneys have an extensive record of success in Wisconsin nursing home abuse cases and have secured some of the highest neglect and abuse settlements in the state.
We offer FREE, no-obligation consultations to help you understand your legal options, and our attorneys work on a contingent-fee basis, which means you don’t pay unless we recover compensation on your behalf.
Please call Boller & Vaughan today at 608-268-0268 or contact us online to arrange your FREE case evaluation. Our law firm is based in Madison but we represent clients across the state
We live in Friendship, Wisconsin, and Boller & Vaughan came to our doorstep to discuss our mother’s wrongful death claim on a Saturday morning. Not only were we pleased with the large recovery, we were so thankful to have lawyers who were willing to explain to us every twist and turn along the way. It is great to know there is a law firm that will fight for the rights of elderly people all over Wisconsin.
Mr. Boller and Ms. Vaughan were incredible in working on my case and my daughter’s case. I was out of work and in the hospital with a new baby. Mr. Boller and Ms. Vaughan protected our rights and it was a pleasure to work with them. I hope never to be in another motor vehicle accident, however, if I am and I am injured, I will contact Boller & Vaughan immediately.
I was referred to Michelle through a friend. I have never had a better experience. It took a little over a year to get my settlement but the staff there stayed in constant contact and kept me in the loop. Oh, and Michelle actually got me MORE money than we discussed. I will refer anyone to this firm. Words cannot do justice the thanks that I have for Michelle and her staff (Mary especially) thank you guys so much!
After my husband died as a result of a motor vehicle accident, Boller & Vaughan spent countless hours talking with me, meeting with me in person, and making sure that I was okay. The drunk driver who hit us did not have any insurance, and we had to make a claim through our own insurance. Boller & Vaughan was fantastic at explaining the law to me and the handling of our claims.
After my son was injured in a daycare setting, Ms. Vaughan took the time to thoroughly investigate our case and my son’s injuries. Michele was approachable and had answers to our questions. Talking with her helped to relieve many of our anxieties.
